"Wesolych Swiat !" by itself, means Happy
Holidays or Season's Greetings, and is used
at Christmas as well as at Easter.

PICTURE >>>Christmas greeting
on a very old Xmas card published in Poland in 1923, the year of my birth.

Xmas
card dated
1923

"Wigilia" means to Poles the meal served on Christmas Eve
at which members of immediate family gather together and break the "oplatek"
strengthening family bond and a sense of belonging. It is a moment of
love and forgiveness when past grudges are forgotten.

I have kept this
ancient Polish tradition and I am happy to see my children and their
families are following it with enthusiasm. Wigilia in a sense is what
being Polish is all about. And I am sure they will pass this tradition
on to their children.

Reviving tradition
of wigilia wasn't easy for me after a very long time since I was completely
uprooted from my home and family by communist aggressors at the age
of 16. In spite of slavery and starvation in Siberia, long army service
and many years of meagre bachelor existence alone, I remembered my
childhood and all the happy customs in Poland but I didn't have conditions
or any experience in preparing the wigilia dishes.

When I got married,
however, I made sure that every year we bought a large, fresh and
green tree which smelled of Christmas (unfortunately
it was drying quickly in hot Australia), prepared a simplified
meatless wigilia and of course bought presents for the children.

CHRISTMAS TREE (choinka)

Poles decorate
Christmas tree not earlier than one day before the Christmas Eve
so that the solemnity of Wigilia and Christmas is better appreciated.

Christmas tree should be tall so that it would reach the ceiling,
at least on a stand and with a star or pointed ornament on the top
like this one.

Bigger children are allowed
to help with the decorations. The most popular ornaments were Christmas
balls, mouth-blown, hand decorated, delicate and brittle, of different
shapes, round or like icicles. There were also moulded shapes of e.g.
popular Santa Claus, or birds with tails added.

In my childhood lots of
decorations were home made and children were involved in preparing.
We were painting the empty egg shells in different patterns. Such
blown egg could also be used for example as a body of an angel, harlequin
or bird. We also were making vases by cutting them from coloured papers.
And making long coloured paper chains.

In Australia apart from the decorations we also hang on the tree,
according to tradition, real red apples (not easily available in snowbound
Polish winter), star shaped iced gingerbread Xmas biscuits (with a
hole in the middle) and many sweets. We always bought Paddington quality
sweets with various fillings, made by Pulkownik, an old renown Polish
firm in Sydney. And for children's excitement we hang (apart from
the blinking lights) - the sparklers !

When all the decorations,
yummy candies and lights were on the tree, the angel hair and the
cotton pieces were thrown on tree branches to imitate the snow.

From time to time during
Christmas holidays children were allowed to pick sweets, etc. from
the tree.

A closer
view of decorations

Xmas tree decorated with Polish traditional ornaments

OPLATEK
(plural:
OPLATKI)

The Oplatek
is a thin unleavened wafer similar to communion wafers. In
Poland oplatki are made in a shape of large rectangles which are embossed
with pictures of Christ Child, Nativity scenes, etc. In Australia
oplatki are quite small and embossing is poor.

The ancient tradition
of oplatek sharing on Wigilia originated and was established only
in Poland. It was adopted in Litva (Lithuania) which formed part of
the Polish Commonwealth and where the Rymaszewski clan lived. The
custom was partly introduced also in Czechoslovakia. It is single
most important item in Polish Christmas festivities.

Oplatek is used not only
by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all
over the world. See Xmas wishes from David Rymaszewski's family, the
third and fourth generation Polish-Americans (Chapter 15: Emails from
visitors to Site  email 004, dated 20 Dec 2002).

The braking and sharing
of oplatek is accompanied by kisses, embraces and the exchange of
best wishes, personalized to fit the individual hopes and needs of
each person present, e.g. I wish you much health, happiness, fulfillment
of all your plans, and everything you wish for yourself. Children
are often wished that they get good grades and grow up to be their
parents' pride and joy.

Oplatek is often sent with
a greeting card to family members away from home. During our early
years in Australia, my brother Zbigniew and my aunty Emilia in Poland
used to send oplatek to us in Australia for Christmas, which we used
on Wigilia night when the children were young and we couldn't get
the oplatek in any other way.

OPLATEK
is now available in Australia four weeks before and until Christmas
from any Polish church after a mass, or a catholic church where Polish
masses are held. Check with Polish clubs or consulate for the location.
There is very small charge for the oplatek.

Eventually,
when Australian community of Polish ancestry and tradition grows larger,
oplatek might be offered here over the Internet, like in the United
States of America.

Before Christmas 2015 I bought oplatki on line from USA company called
The Catholic Company. Open the following website https://www.catholiccompany.comand search
for "oplatek".

It is best
to order just at the beginning of December to allow enough time for
delivery to Australia for Xmas. Using Standard Shipping it takes about
15-16 days.

star-of-Bethlehem

WIGILIA : The main event of the Polish Christmas is Wigilia
- the Christmas Eve supper. It is the single most important day of
the year, a festive family gathering. Hay is scattered over the tabletop
before being covered with pure-white tablecloth. An extra plate is
set at the table for the unexpected stranger. In Poland nobody must
be alone on Christmas Eve. Everyone dons his holiday clothes, awaiting
the evening's first star to appear.

When everybody is gathered
at the table the candles on the table and on Xmas tree are lit and
main lights are reduced. Then comes grace and the braking and sharing
of oplatek. The eldest person present takes the oplatek wafer, breaks
it and shares it with the next in line. Each then shares pieces of
the oplatek with everyone else in the gathering.

In small families the father
begins by breaking the wafer and giving his wife the other half. In
Australia
where oplatki are small, both parents take one oplatek each and each
of them then breaks off a small piece of their spouse's oplatek. The
parents exchange a kiss and good wishes. The same touching ceremony
is repeated between the parents and their children as well as among
the children themselves.

The traditional supper
is meatless but it is compensated by the tasty offerings from the
other major Polish food groups. It consists of twelve dishes.
Although the dishes are simple, each is steeped in tradition, meaning,
and fond memories. Some dishes are prepared only once a year. For
instance freshwater carp fish. It is cultivated in ponds just for
Christmas therefore they are bigger, tastier and are sold live.

After the supper the family
usually gather around Christmas tree and sing the carols. For some,
the last accent of Christmas Eve is a participation in Christmas midnight
mass, called "pasterka" which is translated as "Shepherd's
Mass". When we lived in Canberra and the children were bigger
we went couple of times to Polish midnight mass in a church in adjoining
Queanbeyan.

Children may be lucky
to spot the first star in the sky which in Australian
summer appears rather late, but instead, just before Wigilia
starts, Xmas tree lights are switched on for the first time!
and...

background music
starts to play Christmas carols. First "kolendy"
i.e. Polish carols and later carols sung by popular Bing Crosby.
.

All sit down at Wigilia
table and start by
making the sign of the cross, to cofirm that we are Christians.

This
is followed by braking and sharing the oplatek and personal
wishes to each other with love.

Then, before starting
to eat, all together raise glasses with cherry vodka to toast "Merry
Xmas!"

The traditional Wigilia
supper is eaten after sundown on Christmas Eve. That day
is still part of advent therefore no meat was allowed. Prior
to Wigilia supper many people abstain from any food all day (except
bread and water).

But
Christmas Day food is totally different from Christmas Eve menu. There
are meats like smoked ham, smoked bacon, leg of lamb, also gingerbread
type cakes and delicious tortes  but not as plentiful as at
Easter. Cooking is avoided. Only previously cooked food is heated
such as "bigos" - hunter's stew of sauerkraut and diced
meats or leftovers from wigilia (for recipe
see Easter below - picture on the right >>).

In Australia we
have precooked turkey breast for dinner and baked leg of ham with
horseradish, mustard and rye bread (shinkenbrot), as well as cakes
and nuts. The day is spent with the intimate family at home.

Boxing Day, the
second day of the holiday is a day for visiting friends and relatives
and exchanging Christmas greetings. In Poland young carol singers
with illuminated star or sometimes with a Nativity puppet show, walk
from door to door singing carols and expecting some gifts.

The decorated Christmas
tree is kept until 6th of January (the Three Wise Men Day) when the
Christmas season finishes.

2
years and
3 months old Lucian surveying his Christmas tree at home in London.

Visit
to uncle Edward and grandmother in
London.
27 years old Lena is holding Lucian.
47 years old uncle Edward is holding 10 months old Celina.

London
- Christmas 1965

London
- Christmas 1965

71
years old babcia (grandmother) Aleksandra in London
holding 2 years 3 months old Lucian.

71 years old babcia (grandmother) Aleksandra in London
holding 10 months old Celina.

London
- Christmas 1965

London
- Christmas 1965

We decided to emigrate to Australia on Christmas day in 1965. Lucek
was 2 years 3 months old, and Celinka was 10 months old and Lena
was pregnant  unfortunately booking sea voyage for pregnant
women was not possible.

We had to await for Julek to be born in five months time around
May so we could travel when baby was OK.

Julek
was delivered on
12 May 1966 !

Now we
can go to Australia !

LONDON - 2
WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE FOR AUSTRALIA.
Lena is holding three months old Julian at his Christening party on
20
Aug 1966, ready for travel.

One year and six months old Celinka is behind the
cake which has a sugar stork figurine on top.

14 days
later we left London for a new life in Australia.

SYDNEY - A YEAR
AFTER ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA.
Our nuclear family, all alone, with no relatives of any kind.
Living in a prefabricated metal house at the Experimental Building Station
(EBS) in North Ryde, Sydney.

Lucian 4 years
Celina 2.5 years
Julian 1.5 years
Lena 29 years

London
- Julian's Christening - 1966

Australia
— Christmas 1967

Celina
3.5 years

Lucian
5 years
Julian 2.5 years

Australia
- Christmas 1968

Australia
- Christmas 1968

Children,
all happy after Wigilia, are singing Jingle Bells
next to Xmas tree.

More happiness
after Wigilia next to Xmas tree.
Presents will be found next morning.

Australia
- Christmas 1969

Australia
- Christmas 1969

Lucian
7 years

Julian 4
years

Australia
- Christmas 1970

Australia
- Christmas 1970

Celina
5 years

Celina 6
years
Julian 5 years
Lucian 8 years

Australia
- Christmas 1970

Australia
- Christmas 1971

In front of Christmas tree in uncle Edward's house during children's
visit to London, England.Lucian 9 years
Celina 7 years
Julian 6 years, sitting, with auntie Marta's pet dog.

Photo taken
through the open front door of uncle Edi's house in Ealing (London)
- the Polish community "ghetto" area at that time.
Lucian and Julian were asked to wear anoraks - it's cold in England.
Lucian on left and hooded Julian.

London
- Christmas 1972

London
- Christmas 1972

Another
photo of the Polish carolers in London, watched by 9 year old Lucian
and 7year old Celinka.

Lucian 12
years
Celina 10 years
Julian 9 years

London
- Christmas 1972

Back
in Australia - Sydney - Christmas 1975

1985
Last Christmas in our own house in Watson, Canberra.

Celina
came from Melbourne where she was studying. Lucian and Julian came
from Sydney where they were working.

All three
were still single.

From left
: Lucian 22 years , Celina
20 years ,
Julian 19 years.Lucian's
mop of hair! - It was the period of hair fashions for men and boys.

Also we can say Wesolych Swiat which means in PolishHappy Holidays or Season's Greetings,
and is used at Easter as well as at Christmas.

Easter
card dated
1914

PICTURE >>>

Easter greetings dated
1914 on a very old Polish Easter card sent from MINSK
before the First World War. It shows a picture of the Catholic Cathedral
in Minsk, and a ribbon bears the words "Zyczenia
z Minska" = Greetings from Minsk.

The main motif on the card
is the traditional Polish Easter Table with the usual Easter fare
: coloured eggs, leg of ham, bottle of drink, Polish sausages, babkas
(cakes of inverted bucket shape) and mazurek (special flat crusty
pastry).

The food is always blessed.
It is sprinkled here with holy water by the angel.

At the top left hand corner
of the picture is the Easter Lamb with a church banner.

DECORATED POLISH EASTER
EGGS  "PISANKI"

Every Easter we prepared
decorated coloured eggs called "pisanki". The name comes
from the Polish verb "pisac" = to write. Strictly speaking
this term used to refer only to those eggs decorated by the molten-wax
technique  the batik process. Designs were "written down"
on the egg. But nowadays the word "pisanki" has come to
mean all coloured Easter eggs produced by any technique.

MAKING "PISANKI"
BY MOLTEN WAX METHOD

In this technique a special
metal stick (stylus) with attached miniature funnel at end is heated
over the candle flame. The hot stylus is touched to a small cake of
beeswax to form a puddle of molten wax which enters the stylus and
becomes the "ink". With the molten wax we "write"
a design on the egg. Next the egg is placed in an aniline dye. After
10 minutes the egg is removed, pat dried with a paper towel and held
next to the candle flame (not over it) to melt the wax, which is wiped
with a tissue, leaving white design on coloured background. This process
can be repeated with different colour dyes.

MAKING "PISANKI"
BY SCRATCHING DESIGN ON THE SURFACE OF EGG COVERED WITH SOLID COLOUR

This is the method
that my children and I always used.
My youngest son Julian always helped me with scratching the designs
and produced fantastic miniature works of art !

The eggs are dyed with
solid colour by soaking and hard boiling in a colouring solution using
dyes from plant materials or ready made organic dyes of various basic
colours (yellow, orange, green, red, violet, brown, black) sold in
packets in some Polish and Ukrainian delicatessen shops in Australia.

Alternatively natural plant
dyes such as onion skins or beet skins may be used.
I find that onion skins give greater depth of colour than do beets.

When
the dyed eggs are cooled, the designs are scratched in the dye film
on the surface of the egg by using a sharp metal implement, for example
tip of a penknife, a pin point or edge of razor blade (with care).
I prefered an old fashioned elastic razor blade because it is flexible
and slides, while a rigid instrument can pierce the egg shell.
Most frequent designs drawn by scratching technique are flowers and
geometric patterns.

Various regions of Poland
developed designs of their own which include floral and geometric
patterns or typically Easter motifs e.g. cross, the lamb, pussy
willow (used as a substitute for palm leaves in Poland) or the Easter
greeting "Wesolego Alleluja" or simply "Alleluja"
and the current year.

DYEING EGGS WITH ONION
SKINS

Ingredients:

12 fresh eggs

one and a half litres
of cold water

half a cup of vinegar

one tablespoon of salt

skins collected from
3 kilos of onions

Add onion skins to the
water, then vinegar and salt, and gently eggs one by one. Any egg
that floats is not fresh.

You might add additional
onion skins to cover the eggs thoroughly. A greater quantity of skins
increases the colour depth.

Bring the water, eggs and
onion skins to the boiling point. Then reduce heat to medium level
to avoid cracking eggs and boil for approx. 10-15 minutes. Remove
pot from heat and allow eggs to cool in the mixture. Then, using a
spoon, remove eggs.

The eggs, while still little
warm, may be "polished" with bacon fat or shortening for
shine, if desired.

DYEING EASTER EGGS WITH
NATURAL DYES

If you cannot buy any ready
made organic dyes, it is possible to use natural ingredients that
can be found in almost any kitchen and come up with a number of colours.
One or two of these colours may not be quite perfect for scratched
designs, however they will all produce a nice variety of coloured
eggs.

Put few eggs in a single
layer in a pan.
Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered.

Add about a teaspoon of
vinegar.

Add the natural dye for
the selected colour
(the more eggs, the more dye you need).

Bring water to a boil,
then reduce heat and simmer for 15 min.

Remove the eggs and then
the material you used to colour the eggs with. Put eggs in a bowl.
If you want your eggs to be darker shade, cover them with the liquid
dye left and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator.

POLISH
EASTER FEAST  "SWIECONE"

Easter
food in Poland is very rich in cold meats and special cakes after
40 days of lent and fasting. My parents, for example, had
only bread and water on Good Friday while I was given one salted herring
and tea for the whole day.

The Sunday feast is called
Swiecone - the delicacies that have been blessed in church on Saturday.
The word "to bless" in Polish is "swiecic", hence
the name "Swiecone" for the Easter Buffet - the blessed
things.

THE TABLE

The table is covered
with a white tablecloth. The centerpiece are the traditional Easter
lamb (baranek wielkanocny) made of sugar, holding
a banner (eg. with a red cross), and "pisanki",
the coloured or decorated eggs . It is spring in
Poland , so the table is decorated with branches of pussy
willow ("kotki"), daffodils and
fresh green boxwood. "Wesolego
Alleluja" appears on various items. For instance, it
is "written" on the ham with cloves or lard, and on the
"mazurek's" with almonds and raisins.

SHARING THE EGG

The first thing
before the celebrations is the sharing of the blessed eggs. The shell
is removed, each egg is cut into 4 wedges and placed on a plate. They
may be sprinkled with salt. Then, the head of the family goes around
and offers a wedge to each person present. Each one has an opportunity
to exchange best wishes in much the same way as when "oplatek"
is shared on Christmas Eve.

Simplifying the procedure,
the dish may be passed round. When each person preferably standing,
has their wedge on their fork, everyone wishes everyone else "Wesolego
Alleluja" (joyous Alleluia, equivalent to Happy Easter) and consumes
their piece of egg. Then all continue to enjoy the feast.

THE
FEAST

No hot meals are
served during Easter Sunday. The feast is busily and extensively prepared
beforehand so there is rest and no cooking over Easter days.

Except a traditional hot sour rye soup with potato and sausage called
in Polish ZUREK (ZHOO-rek)- see recipe below.

Cold buffet dishes
predominate, placed on long side-table, such as:

smoked and baked
hams;

smoked bacon;

coils of country
style pork sausages (kielbasa), some flavoured with garlic;

a whole roasted
piglet decked with flowers and easter egg in its mouth for decoration;

roast meats, especially
veal and lamb;

roasted duckling
or goose;

jellied pork or
brawn;

pâté
(pasztet);

hard boiled eggs,
they are delicious served with fresh horseradish, little salt and
rye bread;

plenty of dill
cucumbers (polskie ogórki);

stuffed cabbage;

eggs in various
sauces;

cwikla
- traditional relish made from beets, horseradish and a spoon of brown
sugar;

white or pink
horseradish;

mustard.

There are also
many traditional Easter treats on the side-table,
baked especially for this occasion:

"mazurek"
- special
crusty pastries of different varieties and flavours,
a softer version of shortbread. "Mazurek" is a flat cake
on a pastry, covered with paste of nuts, almonds, cheese, etc., colourfully
iced and decorated with jam and nuts and raisins. Other decorations
placed on top could be eggs of icing, pussy willow branches made of
marzipan, chocolate flowers and other delicacies, or letters "Alleluja"
made of cream

."babka"
- tall round cakes of inverted bucket shape, made of rich yeast dough,
yet it has a cakelike moistness, enhanced with raisins, and flavoured
with grated lemon and orange rind, some iced or glazed. Recipes vary
and are housewife's secrets. "Babka" means "grandmother"
in Polish.

The tradition of
having pre-cooked dishes to eat at Easter is very practical. Thus
the cold buffet and easter pastries can last for a few days and can
be offered (plus vodka or wine) to various invited
guests visiting the family on Easter Monday or Tuesday.

But on Easter Sunday
the celebration is mainly the family affair. The only hot dish (apart
from "zurek" on Sunday) which is prepared during
Easter holidays is the "hunter's stew" - in Polish "bigos".
It is a sauerkraut and meat ragout made from leftovers meats.

bigos - hunter's stew(see
recipe above).

VODKA

With all that stuff
to eat a popular holiday beverage is Polish vodka. Sometimes
it is flavoured, for instance with cherry syrup (wisniówka).

There is also
traditional spicy Easter vodka flavoured with honey, called
"krupnik" - the fire vodka. It is easy
to prepare - see recipe on the right.

Polish hospitality
is a virtue which has survived. You will never walk away from the
table not feeling full.

Combine honey with water, vanilla, spices and lemon peel in
a large saucepan.

Bring
this to a boil, cover and simmer about 5 minutes.

Add
vodka, remove from heat.

Serve
hot or cold.

On
the subject of hangover cures, dr Karl Kruszelnicki,
a Polish Australian scientist, in his book Bizarre Moments in Science,
recommends vodka as the best alcohol to drink because
it has very little poisonous methanol in it, which gives
hangover.

However, few glasses of water should be drunk before
going to sleep to counteract dehydration.

BLESSING
OF THE FOOD  "SWIECONKA"

The
blessing of the Easter food takes place on Saturday
morning before the Easter. Small portions of symbolic food are brought
in a small basket to the Polish church to be blessed by the priest.
There is no Mass, but short prayer and a hymn is sung while
the baskets are sprinkled with holy water and blessed.

The "swieconka" basket is decorated with a colourful ribbon
and sometimes springs of greenery. It is lined with a white linen
or lace napkin. After the blessing the food is set aside until
Easter Sunday.

The family meal
on Sunday is as important as the Christmas "Wigilia". At
the beginning the head of the house shares the blessed egg with the
members of the family.

The items
that have to be there are eggs (most
important), the little lamb, kielbasa, horseradish
and salt for sure, and of course bread and babka
- the little "sweet bread" with ruffled sides.

Easter
basket for "Swieconka"

A bit of history :

This picture was sent from
MINSK in 1918.
It shows the blessing of Easter food.

The blessing of the Easter
Table was done by the local priest who was visiting homes with his
altar boy and sacristan (or organist), seen standing here on the left.

On the table covered with
a white table cloth the usual Easter fare. On the wall there are religious
pictures and a statue.

The family stands on the
right . This is the year 1918 - the end of World War One. Poland has
just became an independent state. One family member is in the uniform
of Marshall's Pilsudski Polish legionnaires. The boy is wearing shorts
and long socks (not old enough to deserve long pants)

Year
1918

EASTER FUN  STRONGEST EGG COMPETITIONWhen our family
was young and together, we enjoyed the strongest egg competition by
cracking the Easter eggs on Easter Monday. I hope my now late-thirties
children and their families will still enjoy this Polish tradition
and pass it on to grandchildren.

Each person, including
adults, selects one of the "pisanki". Each child gets to
select first its favourite egg. Then the adults can be allowed to
select an egg from the remainder  or better still, let the children
select for the adults. Assigning eggs adds to the fun for the youngsters.

We
proceed down across the ages. Beginning with the oldest versus the
next eldest (the parents first), they crack by gently tapping the
point of one egg against the other's pointy end, once, or if necessary
a bit harder the second time.

The looser with the
cracked egg turns his egg around and presents the flat end to the
winner's flat end, for another go to confirm his defeat. He finally
looses if his flat end also cracks or even both flat ends crack. In
case only the winner's flat end cracks, then there is a tie breaker
with whatever end is left that's not cracked.

The winner of the first
"battle" cracks (with the same egg, of course) against the
next oldest and so on, until the youngest gets the last "crack".
Anticipation is great for the younger ones. Best of all because the
winning person's egg is a bit strained with all this tapping and as
the last egg has been "untested", it is usually sturdiest
and the youngest child most often turns out to be the winner of the
competition!

In Poland, in my childhood,
we also competed on the street with neighbours' children. Each had
an egg or two and we challenged whomever we wished. The rule was that
the looser had to hand over his cracked egg to the winner. And the
winner goes on to challenge other winners. Occasionally there was
an argument when the looser claimed that his egg was hit on the side,
instead on the top!

We also won or lost
eggs without cracking in the egg race. Easter eggs are rolled down
an inclined wide plank or slope. The egg that rolled farthest won
the other that stopped behind.

Easter eggs for Polish
children to colour and draw a picture on the last white egg or just
write your name on it.